BY MARTIN KICH Governor Bruce Rauner is doing Scott Walker one better and turning Illinois into Bobby Jindal’s Louisiana without even pausing along the way to replicate what Walker has done in Wisconsin. What is occurring in all of these states is also occurring in Kansas, in Maine, and in a slew of states in…
BY MARTIN KICH Consider the following two teasers for items distributed by the Far Right “news source” World Net Daily: Urgent Calls Begin for Autopsy on Scalia Is there something we’re not being told about the death of Antonin Scalia? There’s suddenly a push for an autopsy to be performed on the Supreme Court…
BY MARTIN KICH In a recent post, “Faculty Become Drowned Bunnies, Too,” Aaron Barlow reported and commented on the words and actions of Simon Newman, president of Mount Saint Mary’s University. Newman, whose previous professional experience was with private-equity firms, abruptly fired two professors, one tenured, and demoted a dean after his remarks about actively…
BY MARTIN KICH According to an article by Chris Buckley published in the New York Times, “Chinese students, already immersed in classes and textbooks that promote nationalist loyalty to the Communist Party as a bedrock value, must be made even more patriotic and devoted to the party, even when they are studying in universities abroad,…
The following piece was written by Brett Mandel and published on his personal blog. It is re-posted here with his permission. _________________________ As an undergrad a quarter-century ago, I would have certainly told you that such a future outcome was as unlikely as Alexander Hamilton, himself, being the subject of a smash-hit rap musical. Today,…
DENVER – The ACLU of Colorado filed suit this morning on behalf of Danny Ledonne, a former professor who was banned by school officials from the Adams State University campus in Alamosa, CO after he created a website criticizing various university administration practices. From May 2011 to June 2015, Ledonne taught in the Mass Communications…
This very nuanced reflection on race and its impact on faculty-student assumptions, communication, and effectiveness is sub-titled “How Ferguson, John Roberts, and an Anonymous Student Helped Me Understand Diversity in the Classroom.” The author of the essay is Margaret Williamson, an Associate Professor Emerita of Classics and Associate Professor Emerita of Comparative Literature at Dartmouth…
Writing for NPR, Camila Domonoski has reported the following: “A professor at an evangelical Christian college who was suspended for saying Christians and Muslims worship the same God will no longer be teaching at the school. “As we’ve reported, Larycia Hawkins, an associate professor of political science who had tenure at Wheaton College in Illinois,…
BY MARTIN KICH On Thursday, February 4, the Faculty Senate at the University of Akron voted no confidence in President Scott Scarborough’s administration—by a vote of 50-2. Before the vote was taken, Scarborough had spoken at some length about his plans for the coming year and had answered several questions. He was not, however, present for…
I just came across the following description of the closing of Corinthian Colleges, written in May 2015 by Lawrence Biemiller for The Week: _________________________ Corinthian Crumbles In classical architecture, Corinthian is the most elaborate of the orders, recognizable by the acanthus leaves carved into column capitals. In higher education, however, Corinthian is a company accused…